There is a wide range of feed additives deliberately designed to be used in sheep diets that can improve production performance. Whereas herbal supplementation is gaining popularity not only for improving sheep productivity and mutton quality but also for safe application without any harmful residual effects. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of plantain (Plantago lanceolata L.) and/or garlic leaf (Allium sativum) dietary supplementation on growth performance, immunity, rumen histology, serum antioxidants and meat quality of sheep. The experiment consisted of a completely randomized design with 32 one-year-old sheep (initial mean live weight 9 ± 0.2 kg) allocated to four groups (8 sheep per group). Rice straw and concentrates-based total mixed ration pellets (2390 kcal/kg DM, CP = 15.1%) were offered as a control diet (CL diet). Herbal treatment diets included (i) CL diet + 10 g DM of plantain herb (PL diet), (ii) CL diet + 10 g DM of garlic leaf (GL diet) and (iii) CL diet + 5 g DM of PL and 5 g DM of GL (PG diet). Compared with the CL diet group, the live weight gain and feed conversion ratio were 18% to 26% and 13% to 20% higher in herbal-supplemented groups, respectively. Moreover, the herbal-supplemented groups, especially the PL diet group had higher serum immunoglobulin concentration, antioxidant capacity and rumen papillae size compared to the control. Besides, the lowest caul fat and pelvic fat levels were observed in the PL diet group followed by PG, GL and CL diet groups. In addition, lower mutton ether extract and saturated fatty acid along with higher polyunsaturated fatty acid levels were found in all herbal-supplemented groups. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with PL and/or GL might be used as an alternative in sheep to promote growth, health status and lean mutton production.

Six indigenous Bangladeshi Garole sheep (Ovis aries) (BW: 8±0.5 kg; Age: 1yr) were divided into two groups using a randomized block design to investigate the effect of total mixed ration (TMR) pellet feeding on growth parameter, blood metabolomics, carcass and meat characteristics. Control diet was composed of road side grass, rice straw, wheat bran, mustard oil cake, molasses, common salt which considered as loose total mixed ration (L-TMR) and treatment diet was pelleted form of L-TMR (P-TMR).In both the dietary treatments the animals were fed at 1.5 times of maintenance energy and protein requirement. P-TMR revealed a positive impact (p < 0.05) on live weight gain and feed conversion ratio than L-TMR. Total digestible nutrients (TDN) and digestible crude fibre (DCF) was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in P-TMR group whereas there was no significant difference (p < 0.05) in other digestible nutrients as well as plasma metabolites like plasma glucose, triglyceride, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and LDL- cholesterol concentration between two dietary group. Dressing percentage and eye muscle area was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in P-TMR group but no significant difference was found between dietary treatments in term of disposition of body fat, proximate composition of mutton, all the sensory parameters except tenderness and overall acceptability. So, it could be concluded that, the P-TMR might be fed to sheep for better growth performance and higher meat production rather than production of functional mutton.Progressive Agriculture 28 (3): 222-229, 2017

The aim of this paper is to review the current status of quail production, problems and its future prospects in Bangladesh. Poultry industry is an important sub-sector of livestock production in Bangladesh that plays a crucial role in economic growth and simultaneously creates numerous employment opportunities. As a fundamental part of animal production in Bangladesh, the industry is committed to supplying nation with a cheap source of good quality nutritious animal protein in terms of meat and eggs. Approximately 25% of the protein consumed in Bangladesh originates from poultry .Despite this data, Bangladesh is still one of the lowest poultry meat consuming countries in the world. Here per capita meat consumption is only 1.2 kg per person per year and per capita egg consumption is also about 32 eggs per person per year. With increasing incomes, the demand for meat, especially the cheaper option of poultry meat, and eggs is set to rise. More importantly, quail becomes a promising poultry species in Bangladesh due to their smaller body size, hardiness against common chicken diseases, easy management, quick return over the invest, less labor cost and investment required for the farming. But still now the rearing quail is not yet popular like chicken farming due to poor marketing channel, subsistence farming, lack of specialized feed, lack of available day-old chicks, high chick mortality etc. Scientific feeding, training to the farmers about their management, creating organized marketing channel will be the probable solution for vitalizing this species in Bangladesh.

The experiment was carried out for 4 weeks to find out the efficacy of herbal extracts supplementation in drinking water on production performance, plasma metabolites, carcass characteristics, and fat deposition of commercial broilers. A total of 200 straight run day-old chicks (Cobb-500) were divided into five treatment groups; T0=Basal diet, T1= Basal diet+10 ppm neem leaves extract, T2= Basal diet+10 ppm garlic leaves extract, T3= Basal diet+10 ppm plantain leaves extract, T4= Basal diet+10 ppm antibiotic growth promoter (AGP) each with four replications having 10 birds per replicate. All the herbal extracts and AGP were supplemented in drinking water. Ration in the form of crumble was offered to the birds ad libitum having ME=3060 kcal/kg and CP=22.5%. Body weight and feed intake were recorded weekly to calculate body weight gain (BWG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR). A total of 15 birds three from each treatment were sacrificed at the end of feeding trial and dressing parameters were evaluated. Sensory properties of broiler meat were assessed by a panel of experts. Feed intake, BWG and FCR varied (p<0.05) in all treated groups, and the higher BWG and improved FCR were found in AGP group. Triglyceride and very low-density lipoprotein content were lower (p<0.05) in all herbal treated groups than the control and elevated at AGP group. However, increased (p<0.001) dressing percentage and abdominal fat deposition were found in AGP group compared to herbal treated groups and the least value was found in plantain group which also exhibited lower (p<0.001) meat ether extract. Flavor (p=0.001), juiciness (p=0.002), tenderness (p=0.005) and overall acceptability (p<0.001) of broiler meat were significantly higher in herbal group over control and AGP group. The aqueous herbal extract supplementation could be an alternative to antibiotic growth promoter to enhance growth performance, plasma lipid profiles as well as to reduce abdominal fat and meat of either extract. Bang. J. Anim. Sci. 2019. 48 (2): 108-115

This study was aimed to find out the suitable dose of fresh plantain (Plantago lanceolata L.) supplementation for optimum growth, serum antioxidants status, liver health, and meat quality in broilers. A total of 1152-days-old Cobb-500 broilers (average weight: 45 ± 0.7 g) were randomly assigned into four dietary treatments, including (i) control (CON): corn-soya based basal diet, and plantain (PL) supplemented groups (ii) PL40: CON þ 40 g fresh PL/kg diet; (iii) PL80: CON þ 80 g fresh PL/kg diet; and (iv) PL120: CON þ 120 g fresh PL/kg diet. Improved growth efficiency (p < .05) was observed in PL supplemented groups compared to CON, where PL80 and PL120 groups had the highest value. Serum superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase concentrations were comparable in the PL80 and PL120 groups, but higher (p < .05) than other groups. The lowest concentrations of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase were found in the PL80 group, while alkaline phosphatase was the highest in the PL40 group. Furthermore, the PL80 group exhibited the lowest (p ¼ .001) abdominal fat content and the highest (p ¼ .002) breast meat yield. Meat linoleic acid content was nevertheless improved linearly with PL supplement levels, and the highest value was found in the PL120 group. Furthermore, the maximum meat redness (a à ) was observed in PL80 and PL120 groups, which was approximately twice that of the CON. Overall, the growth and health responses of both PL80 and PL120 groups were similar, while the latter had improved the meat fatty acid profile. HIGHLIGHTSSupplementation of 80 g plantain/kg diet showed optimum growth performance, health status, and plasma antioxidants level in broilers. 120 g plantain/kg diet might be supplemented with the purpose of producing value-added broiler meat.